Did you think "Tebowmania" would mellow out and simmer before ramping up when training camp hits? It would have been perfectly reasonable to think so had the beleaguered Jets acquired literally any other player to bump heads with incumbent Mark Sanchez.
But the less successful of New York's two football franchises last season opted to stir the pot by signing perhaps the largest media lightening rod in league history, Tim Tebow. Now, while the majority of the nation is content to patiently wait on the outcomes of the Colt McCoy /Brandon Weeden and Blaine Gabbert/Chad Henne QB battles, the Gang Green QB controversy has already begun to turn heads.
On Tuesday, the only Jets QB to win the Lombardi Trophy decided to weigh in. Joe Namath gave Sanzhez his endorsement in lieu of suggesting that it's time for a change. "There's no doubt about it," said Namath in regards to his ranking of the current Jets signalcallers. "There's no doubt about it at all... And Mark's going to get better. He's going into his fourth year. "
Regardless, speculation has begun to swirl over the true nature of the Jets plan for the former Bronco. While one of the major critiques of Tebow has been his questionable fundamentals, Jets QB coach Mark Cavanaugh commented that "He has good mechanics." He added, "They're getting better every day."
While the Week 1 lineup as yet to be set, Sanchez is still the starter and it seems that it will be his job to lose as opposed to a truly open competition. That places Tebow in the unique position of being both one of the NFL's most popular players and a backup.
Despite leading the Broncos to the AFC Divisonal round only months ago, Tebow suddenly found himself as a man without a country when Peyton Manning ended his search for a new franchise in Denver.
Tebow was not expected to be on the trade block long, but the Jets were a dark horse candidate for his services to say the least. Sanchez had seemed to regress after playing well enough behind a solid defense and sufficient offensive weapons during each of his two initial campaigns. 2011 was the first year that the former USC star failed to earn New York a trip to the AFC Championship game.
Statistically, Sanchez improved in his third season. He notched 30 more completions than the year previous with only 36 more attempts. He increased his TD total by 9. He notched a career best 3,474 yards, which hampered by a shoddy rushing attack, is certainly respectable.
But after a meltdown in Philadelphia and then committing the ultimate sin; a "home" loss to the cross-town rival and eventual Super Bowl Champion Giants; Sanchez and the Jets found themselves out of the playoffs.
The headlines were a different story. The Jets were not able (or willing) to escape those. Sanchez's inconsistent nature, poor decision making, and mid to late season struggles frustrated fans and analysts alike. Much like former Jets QB Chad Pennington, Sanchez appeared to have hit his peak fast and plummeted downward just as swiftly.
Jets owner Woody Johnson looked to quell rumors of an impending change at QB and reasserted his passer's confidence with a three year contract extension. This proved a bit odd since Sanchez still had time left on his current contract and by no means had outplayed its value.
Days later, the Jets apparently swerved from their attempts to boost Sanchez's confidence when they executed the trade for Tebow.
Publicly, though New York is lauding Tebow's improvement and potential, the Jets front office is claiming that there is no competition for the starting role.
But one would have to think that a team that craves attention is enjoying the speculation. Perhaps they are telling a half-truth.
